Salute
by MugOfAtmosphere
Summary: [ Soldier 76 X Reader ] Now a veteran, you live a normal life doing as you please, enjoying your retirement from the military. However a surprise shows up in your quiet life and brings you out of the suburbs.
1. Growing Old

How old were you now? Glancing at the mass amount of younger folk around you, you questioned your age and how you survived the omnic crisis. It had been over 20 years since you first joined the military. You joined right out of high school and it had been a good experience on you despite the things you saw and experienced.

Now here you are, roaming the square of a small town you had settled in, a few years after the omnic crisis that had tested your survivability. Luckily back then you had a good friend you made in your journey through the military. Your thoughts trailed through memories and the people you had met. One person specifically shined in those memories. Jack Morrison. Your absolute best friend you met in the military. Scratching the back of your neck as you carried the supplies and items you purchased from various stalls, you realized you had not visited his grave recently.

With a heavy sigh, you decided you'd make a trip tomorrow morning to the location a few towns over and visit his grave. You sure missed his goofy antics and his determination. He was a positive impact on your life and helped you develop into a better person and the person you were today. Admittedly, he had been the reason you were so successful in your terms. You had achieved most of your goals and were pretty satisfied with how you had developed throughout the years.

Memories of the time you two spent together flutter in your head, giving you a faint smile that was filled with a slight sadness. The memories of when you two met in military basic training, how you both were assigned different careers but ended up at the same technical school for specific trainings. You two goofed off after classes so often that eventually others thought you two were more than just buddies. However nothing more than close friends developed. You two did do certain things like cuddling but it was only mere platonic.

You laughed quietly to yourself at the memory of when someone came up to you two while you were watching a movie in the commons area and asked if you guys were dating. The laughter that had erupted from you and Jack was loud and obnoxious after moments of silently staring at the other person.

As you two progressed, you both graduated and went operational however you both were stationed separately. As time went on you two communicated via email, the occasional phone call, and on rare occasions you and Jack found time to visit each other. You remember taking leave once to go to his promotional ceremony as he was selected for special duty. After that whole ceremony you ended up staying at his place and he told how he was actually selected for an enhancement program and it'd be awhile before you two would see each other.

His return from that program, you were so proud of him. He was then selected to join Overwatch and later made strike commander. The time you two spent together grew less and less but he still would call you at least twice a week to chat. Just thinking back to those moments of his promotions and career success caused pride to swell in you for the man. A sad, proud smile twitched on your face.

"Ah Jack… I sure miss ya…" you muttered to yourself as you waded through people to the neighborhood you lived in as sadness took away that feeling of pride. Looking up, you were too late to realize you were about to bump into someone and gently bounced off their chest.

"Ope! I'm sorry,sir!" you spoke quickly, making space between you and the stranger. He looked down at you, a pulse rifle resting over his shoulder as he held it with one hand.

"You're fine. Sorry for bumping into you…" the man hesitated as you examined his face. He wore a visor that covered most of his face, however you could tell he must be covering up some sort of wicked scar due to it partially protruding up his face over his eyebrow to his forehead.

You gave a quick nod and stepped to the side to go past him.

"Have a lovely evening, sir!" you spoke, continuing on your path. Almost immediately you forgot about the encounter. It was so insignificant that there was no reason to hang on and be embarrassed over it.

Jack turned slightly to watch the person walk his visor, his face was contorted into one of thought. It couldn't be you, could it? He thought you would have moved further away from everything. The man debated on following you, to find out which house was yours so he could make an appearance and see his friend once again. However, other thoughts stopped him from doing this.

They would have heard about his death. Both of you had been so close that you would have to have heard. You were on his emergency contact list anyways since he didn't have much of a family besides those in Overwatch. He thought about how they would have gone to your door to let you know. How you would have broken down to know your best friend had died in an explosion.

Jack briefly looked down at the ground. It had been so long. You would have healed from the loss by now. He thought about how you muttered how you missed him before you bumped into his chest. Lightly he placed a hand over his chest, then removed it and shook his head with a sigh. He needed to get back into the thoughts over the mission he was conducting, not be lost in the past. He could think about this more once the mission was completed and he went to his rental room to relax.

Shifting the rifle to his front and holding it tightly with both hands, he continued on his path to his destination.


	2. The Stranger

It was 0600 in the morning. A time you had been trained to wake up to years ago and now the habit would not go away. Sighing, you sat up and rubbed the sleep from your eyes, moving yourself out of bed to go to your closet. You pulled out a tank top, then shuffled over for some basketball shorts.

You subconsciously moved in a morning routine you developed throughout years and years and never fell out of. Once you changed into your workout gear, you grabbed some socks from a drawer and went to your front door. On your way to the door, you managed to grab some headphones, your phone off the charger, and the arm band to keep it attached to your bicep. You put the socks on, as well as your sneakers that had been by the door. Then set up your phone in the strap and pluged in your headphones. Your phone had a playlist set up for working out with your prefered music. Activating the playlist, you took a moment to get into the mood and stretched. Once at least one song was over, you left your house,pausing to grab your wallet, and started to lightly jog and slowly got faster and faster as your distance got further from your house and more into the downtown area.

The music kept you in a trance as you moved your usual route. Once in awhile you'd move your hands as if you were banging on some drums while running. You were breathing fairly not heavily but not smoothly either. Already two miles into your run, you wondered how far you could take yourself or if you should go home to your personal gym and do something besides cardio.

Your path took you to the opposite side of town which was vastly more spread out compared to the side you lived on. It was more industrial on this side while where you lived was more suburban. As you jogged, you noticed a flower store and slowed down. Patting your pockets, you found your wallet and made your way over to the store. You questioned it's early hours but were thankful so that you could bring something to Jack's grave.

Entering, you greeted the shopkeeper with a friendly and labored 'mornin' and made your way looking at the bundles of flowers neatly scattered throughout the building. It took you awhile to remember Jack's favorite flowers, but once you did, you found them and asked what kind of bundles they could make out of it. Feeling satisfied with one of the designs, you chose it and paid for it. The shopkeeper told you it would be ready by noon and to come back then. With a friendly thank you and head nod, you left and continued your work out, now making your way home.

Your jog back was uneventful just like the start. You quite enjoyed the peacefulness of the early day when most of the population of the town were still in bed. As you jogged back home through the downtown square, you noticed the man with rifle making his way in the opposite direction. He seemed pretty beaten up and you wondered if he had a run with the the local thugs. You debating with yourself if you should see if he was okay. In the end, the choice was to keep going. He was walking just fine and seemed to be confident in his path. As you glanced back at him one last time, you two made eye contact and you quickly looked away, speeding up your jog just a tiny bit. How awkward.

By the time you made it home, it had been an hour and you decided your plans were to shower, get dressed, make breakfast, and then go pick up the flowers. Maybe take a nap somewhere in between since most of that should only take you up to 1030. Entering through the main room, you plugged your phone in to get some extra charge and connected the speakers in your house to the phone via bluetooth. You hit play on the screen and your songs resumed.

Picking your way to the bathroom, you stripped your clothing and shut the bathroom door behind you. You prepped your shower and got in, taking extra long to kill time before heading back to the flower shop.

Once the shower was finished and you were dressed in a nice casual wear, it was time to prepare a decent breakfast for yourself. Your normal routine would be a bowl of granola cereal but today you decided you wanted eggs with a side of toast with jelly. As you prepped your meal, you poured yourself a glass of orange juice and leaned against your counter. Your mind began to lose itself in the past.

Memories of Jack and his time with Overwatch consumed your thoughts. Not that you knew much of Overwatch. But you did know some of the members and the basics due to Jack. He had invited you to their events, even the fancy ones. You always wondered why he'd invite you when he could have taken one of his troops. The possibilities zoomed around your head and you settled on that he was comfortable with you the most and that due to no one really knowing you, you wouldn't risk much for his career. You were pretty quiet about anything personal at those events anyways, never speaking of your last name or living area. Basic interactions you had been trained to do when in the service.

In your spot, you had a perfect view to the coins you had collected throughout your service and saw the Overwatch Strike Commander coin Jack had personally made and given to you. A small smile played at your lips at the memory of him making you salute him. When you first met him you thought you would never end up saluting him, but you were wrong and glad you were given the opportunity to give him that respect.

Setting your glass down, you finished cooking and put the food on a plate, setting the pans and dishes used to cook into your sink. Picking out a fork from your silverware drawer, you ate your breakfast with thought, still lost in your sweet memories of your best friend. About 10 minutes later, you had finished and washed the dishes, letting them sit out in the rack to dry. Glancing at the clock on your phone, it was about time to head out and pick up the flowers. Satisfied with your timing, you grabbed a messenger bag and put necessities in it including your leatherman tool.

You double checked to make sure you had everything. Your wallet, keys, phone, cash, your bank card, and other miscellaneous items. Taking the keys firmly in your hand, you left your house, locking the front door behind you and made your way to the flower shop. The downtown square was significantly more busy compared to earlier. Luckily it wasn't crowded so it made for quick time to get across to the flower shop. Inside, you picked up the flowers and payed, then left to catch the bus to the town where Jack's grave rested.

While at the bus stop, you fiddled with the flowers. Out of the corner of your eye however, you caught a man who was starting to grow familiar. This was the third time you saw him but this time he was watching you from afar. You froze and continued to watch out the corner of your eye. All he did was stand there and watch you. Paranoia began to set in and you looked up, making direct eye contact with him. As the bus began to approach, he moved, growing closer.

'Maybe he was waiting for the bus and was watching for it instead of me' you told yourself in effort to calm down. When the bus stopped and opened it's door, you entered while paying the fare. Shortly after you took a seat, the man came on as well, paying and taking a seat behind you in the far back.

Releasing a heavy sigh, you kept your eyes trained to the front as the bus moved. It would only be a 20 minute bus ride and then you could get off and away from the stranger who kept popping up wherever you were. Only 20 minutes till you could see Jack again and pay him some respects. 20 minutes until an event you didn't expect would take place at the grave.

Time had flew past as you had been mindlessly staring out the window. When the bus stopped where you needed to get off, you stood up and made your way to the door and removed yourself from the large vehicle. Quickly, you made your way to the grave site, noticing the stranger had gotten off as well and was following you from several yards away. Panic rose inside you when he shifted his rifle to his shoulder and put a hand in his pocket, acting casual while he followed. Your pace picked up and you made it to Jack's grave, kneeling down and panting from your brisk pace. Glancing around, you didn't notice the stranger and you began to calm down.

"I'm sorry for being so out of breath, Jack…" you sighed and placed the flowers in the small polished stone pot at the front of his grave "There was a stranger following me here. He's been popping up in town wherever I go the past two days. Your hands worked the flowers into a nice arrangement and you smiled faintly.

"I know it's been awhile since I last visited. I sure miss you…" your eyes caught the dirt that was covering part of his headstone. Gently you brushed it away, your breath back to normal.

"I miss talking to you and hanging out and everything…" you tried to hold back your tears, causing your eyes to stink and your throat to clench "I told myself I wouldn't be a baby this time and cry…" you laughed at yourself as a tear rolled down your face and dripped onto Jack's name.

"Hey, remember that one time we promised not to cry at each others graves, depending on who died first? I always thought it would be me since I was actually out in action more than you, you damned commander." you gave a laugh that was quickly cut of by a choked sob.

"It's alright to break that promise…" a voice spoke behind you. One that was familiar and calming to you. For a brief moment you relaxed at the sound of Jack's voice but then it hit you. Staring in horror at his grave, you tried to stand up and back away, only to fall on your butt and crawl away. However you were stopped short when you bumped into a pair of legs. Looking up with a tear stained face strained in fear, you saw the stranger from earlier looking down at you.

You swore your soul flew out of your body as he continued to look down at you. Slowly, he removed his hand from his pocket and held it out to you.

"Need help?"

"W-who…"

"Maybe stand up and I'll introduce myself…" you hesitated, then turned around and took his hand to help you up. He helped pull you up, but left his hand out for a handshake.

"Name's Jack Morrison. Pleasure to meet you [Name]." his hand engulfed yours in a forced handshake. You stood in place in shock, unable to process what just happened.

"J-Ja…" you tried to speak, a process of emotions going through you and it was obvious on your face. The stranger that called himself Jack, removed the visor and immediately you recognized his face. In a heartbeat you began wailing and threw yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his torso and pressing yourself as close as you could to him.

"J-Ja-ack" you wailed between sobs, his free hand gently stroking the top of your head. He shifted as he let his rifle gently drop to the ground and in return, his arms embraced you tightly in a hug that you had been needing since his 'death'.


	3. Unexpected Company

After your encounter with Jack, you had brought him back to your place where you continued to cry and cling to him. After a few hours of chatting and catching up, you mentioned you were going to make dinner and asked what he would like to eat.

"Anything really. I miss home cooked meals…" he spoke, following you to the kitchen.

"I'm mad at you, you know that right?" You said, taking out pans and putting them on the stove.

"Why?" a look of worry hit his face as he watched you prep.

"You never contacted me to tell me you were alive!" You turned your face to him briefly and pouted " I thought we were best friends." Jack laughed and ran a hand through his white hair.

"I had other things to take care of. Truth is, part of me died in that explosion, but not all of me." his face momentarily grew grim, but when he looked back at you it had softened "You definitely never left my mind however. And when I was given opportunities I tried to get information on where you went but was unsuccessful. You've really managed to lock yourself down."

You grinned, now in full swing of cooking and the room slowly filling with sweet scents of food. Jack moved to the side of the counter that had stools and sat down, resting his arms on the counter and holding his head up while watching you. A cheerful, relaxed sigh escaped him while a charming smile spread across his lips. He watched you work, for once feeling blissful and calm in years. Something about being near you was relaxing to him and it was pleasant to once again have the feeling of being safe and relaxed.

"So… have you found anyone interesting over the past years?" he asked you out of the blue.

"Interesting? What do you mean by that? I've made a few friends here but I spend most of my time here alone. I've debated on getting some animals as well to keep it less lonely here." you didn't look up from your task.

"I guess I should have been more specific. I'm glad you made some friends. And I think you should get a dog...or a cat..or some sort of animal." the man hesitated, adjusting his gaze to the side and staring at the white wall "But I mean have you seen anyone? Dated? You know…" his gaze moved back to you with curiosity.

"Hmmm...no. Not really." you let the food cook without your attention for a bit and went to a cabinet to pull out two plates "I've been on a few dates but nothing was ever… I don't know. No one clicked with me. After I found out you had died and the whole entourage showed up at my door, I was just too crushed to really get romantic or do much." you paused, grabbing some cups and silverware and placing them all in front of Jack.

"I just… mmm… it felt like betrayal or something. I can't really describe it. I was too lost from losing you. You were..still are such an important person in my life. I wouldn't be me without you ever showing up in my life."

Jack watched you with soft eyes. With a heavy sigh he leaned back and set out the plates and silverware as you moved away back to the food. His thoughts felt cluttered and conflicted. Back in the day when you two had gotten older, he had developed to like you more than as a friend but had been too afraid to mention anything of it due to the possibility of ruining what was already between you and him.

"You alright, Jack?" you noticed a conflicted distant expression on his face as you brought the food over to put on the plates. He looked up and shook his head up and down.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he picked up the fork next to his plate and poked at the slab of steak you had just placed on his plate.

"And apparently you think I lost my ability to read you. Tell me what's going on, J." you finished placing food on both plates and set the dishes to the side, leaning on the counter on your side and picking up your fork "I can still tell when something is on your mind even after all these years."

"I'll tell you after we eat, sound like a plan, soldier?" he looked up and gave you the dorky smile he used to give you when he was a commander.

"It's a deal. Now eat or else I'm going to steal your food." you beamed at him, shoving a piece of steak in your mouth. Jack laughed, digging into his meal.

You two had finished eating and you began washing the dishes, humming softly as your friend turned on some music from the living room. When he came back, he had removed his coat and the piece of his visor that held the main piece to his face. Jack rubbed his jaw and came up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder to watch you wash the dishes. His warmth on your back was enjoyable and you sure missed his presence. Something inside you however sparked back to life and you recognized it immediately. Despite enjoying this affection on a platonic level, you had developed a crush on Jack years ago and had almost forgotten about it over the years.

But with his head next to yours and his arms around you, the feelings began to come back and you allowed the to. Continuing to wash the dishes, almost finished you flicked some water at the man behind you. He laughed lightly and took a hand into the running water from the faucet and lightly splashed you.

"So what were you thinking about earlier that made you have some pretty interesting expressions?" you asked, breaking the giggles and silence. Jack hummed and nuzzled into your neck, tightening his grip around you. Finishing the dishes, you emptied the water from the sink and rinsed your hands off before turning off the faucet. You grabbed the towel that was off to the side and dried your hands, wiggly to turn around in the others grasp. Jack grabbed the towel from your grasp and tossed it to the side on the counter, resting his forehead against yours.

"I was thinking about you, honestly…" he hesitated, debating if it was still a good idea to admit his feelings. He knew everything between you two started platonically all those years ago when you met at basic training. But to him, everything grew more in the last few years before he supposedly died. Taking a deep breath, he was about to confess. However, movement caught his eye and he pulled you both down as the window behind you shattered.

"Fuck…" Jack cursed, looking up at the now shattered window, then glancing at the bullet hole in your wall "Shit… I didn't think they'd follow me here…" his breathing picked up, glancing at your to make sure you were okay.

"Stay low and avoid windows, I'm grabbing my gear." he gave you a quick kiss to the forehead and crawled away, trying to avoid the windows as he grabbed his coat and visor gear. Jack quickly geared up and came back to you.

"Until this is over, call me Soldier 76." his voice sounded much rougher behind the visor "Stand up, we need to get to a safer location." his hand grabbed your arm roughly and yanked you up, blocking you with his body from any windows, his pulse rifle up and ready. Peeking from behind him, you noticed people moving around your back yard where you now shattered window faced.

A cackled was heard and a black mist flowed in from the window, solidifying into a thick man with an owl mask. Soldier 76 put an arm out and pushed you more behind you, keeping his hand in contact with you while his other held out his rifle.

"Hm… so you two really were a little more than just pals…" the new stranger chuckled when he got a glance at you "Shall I kill you both so you death won't do you part?"

"Shut you, Reaper." Soldier's voice growled lowly. He carefully pushed you, leading you away from Reaper. He continued to used his body to shield you. You were once a military member just like Jack, why did he feel the need to protect you as if you were defenseless. Glancing behind you, more windows shattered. With instinct, you pulled the pistol from the gun holster on Soldier's side and shot at the people coming in, getting critical hits on each other. Moving to your other side, you shot threw the glass porch doors to the henchmen standing outside it with rifles up, hitting critical spots on them as well. Both of the men in front of you paused and stared at you. Due to both masks covering their faces, you couldn't tell if they were surprised or what.

Taking the opportunity of his hesitation, you moved out from behind 76 and directly in front of Reaper, between his shotguns. The pistol in your hand pressed firmly against the other's stomach.

"I've seen more shit in my day from deployment than you could think, kid. I don't know who you are but get the fuck out of my house." your expression of fearlessness and determination to get this stranger away did not falter.

"hm...I can see why you're such a catch…" Reaper commented, twisting his hands so the shotguns now pressed in your sides. You did not flinch until Soldier ripped you away and hit Reaper's chin with the butt of his gun.

The attacker cursed in pain from the hit. Soldier picked you up and carried you over his shoulder as we exited the house quickly.

"Jack! What the hell!?" you spoke loudly as he carried you away from your home, pistol still in hand.

"I said don't call me that right now. And do not fight this man!" his tone of voice was serious and commanding and you did not appreciate it one bit. As he continued to carry you away, you aimed the pistol as best as you could and plucked off a few followers as they raced after you. Eventually Soldier had managed to get far away enough and slid into a alley way, putting you down as he breathed heavily.

He put his rifle down quickly and took his pistol back from you, grabbing a new magazine from his side and replacing the old one before handing it back to you. A spiteful glare was written across your face as you stared up at your friend.

"What the absolute fuck was that. I… we could taken him easily!" you took the weapon back in an aggressive motion. Jack bent down slightly to your eye level and put his hands on your shoulders. It felt almost insulting to you.

"You do not know who you are up against. That man will kill you and so will his henchmen." your shouldered his hands off and stalked down the alley a bit, glaring at him.

"Fucking really? Look here..'Soldier 76'. I'm not one of your fucking subordinates. I've been on the field way longer than your fucking commander ass was back in the day. I know how to fight and protect myself and my shit." you pointed a stiff finger at him.

Rolling his eyes, he peeked around the corner to see if any of the henchmen or Reaper had caught up yet. Seeing at is was still clear, he picked up his rifle and got close to you, giving you a knife hand.

"Look here [Name]. The world isn't the same place as it was back when we first joined the military. We aren't fighting terrorists or many omnics now. We're fighting an organization that wan has unclear motives. All we fucking know is that they want Overwatch members dead." you two sat in silence. You didn't know how to respond so you looked to the side, avoiding his gaze.

After a few moments he moved away with a heavy sigh, turning back to the entrance,pulse rifle ready for anything. You moved down further and sat down near a corner connecting to another ally. You hated moments like this. It was very rare for you two to argue and each time he had been right. Sitting there in your own self pity, you gazed at his back. He had stayed in good shape for being as old as he was.

As you admired your friend, voices echoed down the alleyway. Glanced around the corner, you saw some of Reaper's henchmen making their way closer to you and Jack. If you spoke to tell your friend, they would hear. Glancing to the front where Soldier was, you felt panic arise as the realization hit that he was no longer there.

Quietly getting up, you slowly began inching your way to the other end as the shadows grew bigger against the way. You swallowed a lump of spit and held up the pistol,wishing you had your flack jacket from your old military gear. As the henchmen came around the corner, the noticed you immediately and came after you.

You shot off a few bullets but missed or grazed the men. Cursing you turned to run but were stopped by another group of henchmen appearing. Your heart dropped as Soldier's words echoed in your mind.

"oh fuck.." you squeaked out.


End file.
